-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Max Page , the 7-year-old who played a mini Darth Vader in a Volkswagen commercial , is recovering from open heart surgery , his doctor and mother said Thursday .

Max Page : Meet the face behind the Force

`` Max is out of surgery and he 's doing well , '' said his surgeon , Dr. Vaughn Starnes at Children 's Hospital in Los Angeles . `` Max is in the cardiac ICU and recovering very well . '' Max underwent the surgery to replace a pulmonary heart valve .

Max 's mother , Jennifer Page , described the recovery to CNN in an e-mail as `` a very frightening place . In the beginning stages it is filled with beeps , tubes and strange terminology . '' She asked for payers for Max to begin to wake up and to have as little pain as possible , adding that , `` He hurts , ca n't have water and is disoriented . ''

Max 's family waited in the lounge next door during surgery , his mother said , adding that his younger brother Els made him a special recovery pillow and offered a silent prayer by Max 's side once the operation was complete .

Max is known for playing the role of a mini Darth Vader character who goes around his parents ' house trying to use `` the Force '' on various household items without much success . He eventually tries his luck on his parents ' car , and much to his surprise , it starts . Well , with a little help from the remote start fob one of his parents uses from inside the house .

Max was born with tetralogy of fallot , a congenital heart defect that in this case affected the function of his pulmonary valve , which helps the flow of blood through the heart . After a number of measures to preserve his pulmonary valve , doctor 's replaced it with a porcine valve that should last 10-15 years , according to the Children 's Hospital website .

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Max Page , 7 , has surgery to correct heart problem

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Doctor says he is recovering well

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Max is known for donning Darth Vader costume in a car ad